


Earworm

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, it's gen but it's blacksand-flavored gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 18:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19156627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "Has anyone here ever watched “The Princess and the Goblin”? I want to see someone use the song “A Spark Inside Us” against Pitch and his Nightmares, and whatever happens next. (If you can’t make out the lyrics, they’re here)My first thought was for Bunnymund to sing it (the lyrics have a lot of hope in them IMO) but I’m good with any of the characters, Guardian or Child, using it to protect themselves."I actually have seen that movie, and LOVED it as a kid. It…did not hold up as well as some other childhood movies. But I do remember it. (PS Did all copies of the movie have like a fairy woman warning kids about stranger danger as a PSA before the actual movie?)Anyway, this fill: A small child uses the song to defend herself from Pitch. But that’s not who Sandy hears singing it one night. Takes place pre-movie.





	Earworm

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 12/16/2015.

Sandy was flying low over a row of houses—lower than usual; he had had the vague feeling that something that he ought to pay attention to was going on around here, and he didn’t have anything more pressing than vague feelings to guide him—when he heard something unexpected for this time of night and this type of neighborhood: a man singing to himself. He liked what he heard, but it wasn’t exactly the occasion. He smiled and swayed a little to the music, deciding to follow the lovely voice to its source—and maybe send him to sleep if he was disturbing any other sleepers around him.  
  
_there’s a spark inside us/that we can all ignite/and all that’s dark inside us/will flicker into light…_  
  
Sandy goggled at the singer from his cloud, pressing his hand to his mouth to stifle astonished laughter. Of all songs for all people to sing, he would  _never_ , not in ten thousand years, have guessed that he would find  _Pitch_ singing these lyrics. And he wouldn’t have wanted to laugh, definitely not, if Pitch had seemed aware of what he was singing—that would have been worth a lot of discussion, possibly quite painful discussion, but maybe it would indicate that Pitch was finally inclined to listen—but that wasn’t what was going on. No, instead, Pitch was apparently singing completely absentmindedly, as he slowly wandered through the neighborhood.  
  
Well. At least he wouldn’t be waking up anyone who was already asleep. Sandy let his cloud float a little closer, but still tried to remain out of sight. He wanted to know why on Earth Pitch was singing that song, but he also wanted to listen a little longer. He didn’t know when the last time was that he had heard Pitch sing. And he did have such a nice voice, when he wasn’t using it to be nasty.  
  
But Sandy wasn’t used to being stealthy, and Pitch wasn’t one to let the Sandman sneak up on him for long.  
  
“ _becomes a song inside us/to chase away the night_ …Sandy!” Pitch whirled around to find Sandy grinning at him from his cloud, just a little bit above eye-level. “What are you doing here? Everyone’s already asleep!”  
  
Sandy formed a large pair of ears over his head. Pitch stared at him for a moment before his eyes widened. He regained most of his composure at once, and made a face into the bargain. “I…don’t know what you could possibly have to listen to,” he lied, and very obviously, too.  
  
Sandy pouted and opened his eyes wide. He wanted to know! And if Pitch wouldn’t say…well, it would still make a funny story, wouldn’t it?  
  
“At least you ended with a threat,” Pitch said and folded his arms. “It’s ridiculous that you think that pouting and making puppy-dog-eyes at your mortal enemy would produce better results.”  
  
Sandy smiled and shrugged without signing anything.  
  
“Ah…well. The actual reason is ridiculous, too, I’ll be equally humiliated telling it or not.”  
  
Sandy just waited. It usually didn’t take too long for Pitch to take an opportunity for conversation.  
  
“But, since you are here…I might as well waste your time. Some natural nightmares might develop, and those are sustaining, if not as fun.”  
  
Such odd remarks. It was stuff like that that made Sandy wonder how much Pitch knew about the source and extent of his own powers. Oh, well, that wasn’t what he was here for, now. He wanted to know about the song! He settled down on his cloud even more than he had been, and looked expectantly at Pitch.  
  
“Er. All right. I think that song is from a movie of some sort. And I learned it because—well, it started this way. I was waiting under a girl’s bed a few nights ago—a really imaginative, promising child, if she continued to be given freedom to read and watch whatever she wanted I believed she would have seen me someday—and I was planning to try to make my presence known, fill the room with a sense of dread, as I do. Not that I expected to be very effective while she was awake, of course. I haven’t managed anything like that in a long time. But  _this_  time—she walked into her room, and immediately stopped. And I could tell at once that even though she didn’t know who I was, she believed that I was there, and, for just a moment, she was afraid, gloriously afraid of me! I sent some shadows creeping towards her—and, well, you can’t expect that I wouldn’t have done that, Sandy. So don’t frown like that. Anyway. That, ah, was when she started singing that song, and she believed with all her heart that it would protect her, and stop me. Now, I don’t really know if it would—I don’t think it would—but she was just so sincere in her belief in it, and she was singing it because she believed I was there, and…of course I didn’t want to damage a belief like that, especially when that belief could include  _me_. And so…I left. As if that silly song really could harm me!  
  
“And that was really all, absurd really, that for the sake of just a little belief I would actually walk away from fear, and now I’ve got the song stuck in my head and it just won’t leave. And unfortunately, you had to find me singing it.” Pitch folded his arms. “Are you happy now?”  
  
Sandy nodded enthusiastically. He promised not to tell anyone else.  
  
“You really ought to carry through on the threats you make to your mortal enemy,” Pitch said disapprovingly.  
  
Sandy laughed silently and agreed to bring it up in a very public situation if that would make Pitch feel better.  
  
“That’s not what I—fine. Are we done here? Do you need to whip me for existing or anything?”  
  
It was never for just existing, didn’t Pitch know that? Maybe he had gotten knocked on the head too many times, there were probably a lot of things that needed to be addressed with Pitch even before he was ready, but, oh dear, Pitch really had delayed him. He was running behind, now. He would have to go, unless…   
  
He asked Pitch if he was going to sing anymore.  
  
“Not while I know you’re watching,” Pitch said, as if that should be obvious.  
  
Sandy smirked a little and shrugged. Then, they were indeed done. Sandy paused just for a moment before making his next signs, but soon continued, telling Pitch he hoped to hear his voice again soon.  
  
He wondered if Pitch knew he was telling the truth. He wondered when Pitch would figure out that the song, common as its origins and absurd as Pitch’s learning of it had been, still could apply to him, too.


End file.
